White Rock Research Articles

Western Oneota Obsidian: Sources and Implications

Exotic lithic raw materials provide insight into exchange relations and mobility of prehistoric populations. Toward this end, obsidian flakes from two western Oneota sites, Warne in north central Kansas and Blood Run in northwestern Iowa, were sourced using x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. With the exception of two artifacts from Warne, all were traced to parent obsidian sources in the northwestern Plains and Plateau regions. Obsidian pieces from Warne compare favorably with geologic samples from Malad, Idaho (n=4) and Obsidian Ridge, New Mexico (n=2). Trace element composition in the Blood Run flakes is congruent with sourced standards from Obsidian Cliff, Wyoming (n=5) and Bear Gulch, Idaho (n=l). The artifacts from Warne point to down-the-line acquisition during contact with groups closer to their sources to the west and south. Such contact may have occurred during bison hunting forays in those directions. The low incidence of New Mexico obsidian supports the Late Prehistoric temporal placement of the White Rock phase. The sources of obsidian from Blood Run are consistent with those of artifacts from earlier sites in Iowa, particularly those of the Middle Woodland period, and reflect the maintenance of trade relations with northern Plains groups.

,,Za rasu a národ...''

The study is concerned with the causes of the establishment and growth of the neo-Fascist and neo-Nazi branches of the anti-liberal extreme right on the Czech political scene in the 1990s. It documents its traditionalist and anti-democratic system of values which may, if there are favourable conditions, negatively affect the Czech political ethic in an undesirable direction. In the beginning the author deals with the question of discontinuity of Czech Fascism. He describes stages of Czech Fascism between 1922 and 1945. The farce of direct historical continuity is weakened by the fact that compared to its foreign counterparts Czech Fascism remained a politically marginal and numerously weak political current in Czech society. In the Czech politics it never acquired a sizable political weight, never surmounted fragmentation of its organisational framework and ideology, never created a mass national movement, never developed terrorist forms of political work and failed to succeed both in elections and parliamentary work. It was unable to come up with a charismatic leader who would be able to challenge the generally accepted cult of T. G. Masaryk, which had firm links to democratic values. Czech Fascism was at its apex during the conservative authoritarian „second republic" (from 1938 to 1939), when it became part of the ruling elite, thus acquiring a certain portion of power. After the efforts of Czech Fascists to have German Nazis recognise the Czech-German Fascist partnership and to seize the administration in the war-time Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia failed, the peculiar construction of Czech Fascism started to crumble. A part of Czech Fascists identified themselves with the Nazi Germanity and new pan-European ideas. The year 1945 witnessed total discrediting of Czech Fascism and its expulsion from the Czech political scene. The study also presents a basic typological analysis of contemporary extremely right-wing, neo-Fascist and neo-Nazi groupings. It points to indulgent attitudes to their activities, which in Czechoslovakia and subsequently in the Czech Republic survived until the second half of the 1990s, affecting the legislation and attitudes of local authorities. The study also deals with specific causes of the establishment of the ultra-right in the post-communist Czech society. Along with a loss of certainties, brought about by the ascent of individualised liberalism, and the impact of a large array of problems arising from previous results of economic and political transformation, the author highlights the counter-productive semi-official cosmopolitan ideological attacks on the Czechoslovak and Czech national ideas and national identity which are grist to the mill of integral nationalism and biological racism. The care of the study is devoted to an analysis of the value orientation of Czech neo-Fascism and neo-Nazism. The author used an unusual source - political songs of a number of prominent skinhead bands. At present, both the former and current members of skinhead groupings make up a sizable part of the rank and file of all ultra-right organisations. Furthermore, the impact of skinhead songs crosses the bounds of organised movements. The skinhead music performances are the most perfect propaganda of neo-Fascist and neo-Nazi ideology among the young generation. The combat song plays traditionally an extraordinary mobilisation role in the Fascist utilitarian collectivism. Although it is bound with a different music form than the marches of the Fascist era of the 1920s-1940s - at present it is the so-called hard white rock - its texts and content have remained basically the same. A simple text is made dynamic with repeating choruses - tough slogans calling for a violent act against a totally humiliated enemy, mostly for a murder. The mass music productions constantly apply the same psychological scenario activating mass hatred and joint will for a violent attack. The current Czech political elites are castigated for their alleged contempt for the nation and insufficient protection of Czech national interests in Europe. The fear of threat to the nation goes hand in hand with criticism of the system of representative democracy, its mechanisms and political practice. Everything culminates in the central motive of a „new age, new tomorrow, new world," in which a new order is installed, but not without a bloodshed. The new order means a state of strong fist and the only alternative in which an elite will govern for the people. This will include order, quiet, racial certainty and preponderance of Czechs, while the principle of „blood and honour, a single leader and leadership" will gain the upper hand.

Two-way selection for high and low responsiveness to photostimulation in broiler strain males

Previous studies indicate that responsiveness to photoperiod (PR) has deteriorated in White Rock heavy breed females and males, and that selection for increased PR in females has a positive effect on egg production. In order to determine whether PR can be affected by selection in males, a two-way selection experiment for high and low PR, as expressed through early and late onset of mature semen production under suboptimal photoperiod, was implemented in White Rock heavy breed males. In each selection line, the selected males in each generation were mated to unselected females of the same line. After four generations of selection, males and females of the two selection lines did not differ significantly in 6-wk body weight. Males of the high-PR line, however, achieved mature semen production 18.9 d earlier (P < 0.01) and at a body weight 587 g lighter (P < 0.01) than the males of the low-PR line. Females of the high-PR line came into lay 25.9 d earlier (P < 0.01) and at a body weight 375 g lighter (P < 0.01) than females of the low-PR line; they also produced 13.9 more eggs over a 14-wk test period (P < 0.01). These results show that it is possible to affect PR by selection in males, with parallel effects on female PR and reproductive performance. This result carries the potential of improving reproductive performance of male and female broiler chickens through mass selection for early sexual maturity among males.

Late Prehistoric Oneota Population Movement into the Central Plains

The White Rock phase is an intrusive Late Prehistoric archaeological complex in the central Plains. It shows clear ties to the Oneota tradition of the upper Midwest. Population movement best explains the presence of this Oneota complex in the Plains. Interpretations of seasonal mobility or migration are evaluated through analysis of White Rock phase assemblages. Evidence for gardening and lithic material use patterns suggest permanent or year-round occupation of the central Plains resulting from the Oneota migration.

440 Ma igneous activity in the Meguma Terrane, Nova Scotia, Canada; part of the Appalachian overstep sequence?

Abraded zircons from the basal rhyolitic tuff member of the White Rock Formation, which disconformably overlies the Cambrian-Early Ordovician Meguma Group, have yielded a nearly concordant U-Pb age of 442+ or -4 Ma interpreted as the age of extrusion. This age straddles the approximately 443 Ma Ordovician-Silurian boundary. Abraded zircons from the Brenton granite lie on a chord with an upper intercept age of 439+4/-3 Ma, which is interpreted to be the age of intrusion, thus supporting its inferred subvolcanic nature. On the other hand, monazite from the Brenton pluton yielded a nearly concordant analysis with a 207 Pb/ 206 Pb age of 380+ or -3 Ma, which is interpreted to be the time of the low pressure, high temperature metamorphism. Using these new data, the following observations suggest that the Meguma and Avalon terranes were neighbors during the Silurian-Early Devonian: (1) both have latest Ordovician-earliest Silurian, bimodal, subaerial, alkalic-tholeiitic, rift-related, volcanic rocks with Nd signatures indicating a similar continental basement source; (2) both show a similar progression of depositional environments: subaerial in the earliest Silurian, progressively deeper-water marine strata in the Llandovery and Wenlock, switching to gradually shallowing marine environments in the Ludlow, and reverting to subaerial in the Pragian; and (3) both contain Rhenish-Bohemian Early Devonian fauna. Furthermore, the southeast to northwest transition from an offshore sandbar to a beach sand in the Silurian White Rock Formation suggests the presence of land to the north, now recognized as Avalonia. These conclusions support published suggestions that the Siluro-Devonian successions in the Meguma and Avalon terranes form part of the overstep sequence that extends across most of the northern Appalachians. Published data indicate that Avalonia was adjacent to Gondwana in the Neoproterozoic, that it separated from Gondwana in the Early Ordovician, and was accreted to eastern Laurentia in the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian. On the basis of the data and correlations presented here, we suggest that the Meguma Terrane travelled with Avalonia. This is consistent with the absence of a phase of deformation between the Cambro-Ordovician Meguma Group and the Silurian White Rock Formation.

Performance and adipose cellularity of female progeny of White Plymouth Rock dams and commercial broiler breeder sires

Performance and adipose cellularity of female progeny of White Plymouth Rock dams and commercial broiler breeder sires

Survival, Emigration, and Winter Population Structure of Harlequin Ducks

AbstractA population of individually marked Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) at White Rock, British Columbia, Canada was examined to measure the degree of population differentiation among birds which pair during the winter months. This required an understanding of the patterns of emigration among wintering sites in different segments of the population. Some juveniles arrived at the wintering grounds accompanied by their mothers, thus initially arriving into the same winter population as their parents. Young males were more likely than young females to disperse during the first two years of life. Adult males had higher local survival than adult females during the summer months, probably because of the greater mortality risks to nesting females. During the nonbreeding seasons, local survival was the same in both sexes. Paired males had a local survival of more than 90%, suggesting both high survival and strong philopatry. Unpaired males had a lower local survival rate, suggesting they have higher mortality and/or emigration rates. Young females had the same local survival rate as adult females, suggesting that they did not disperse during the winter. These winter philopatry patterns are similar to the general pattern of breeding philopatry in waterfowl, with females showing stronger philopatry than males, and paired adults stronger philopatry than unpaired and young birds. The dispersal of young males makes local population differentiation unlikely in this species.

SURVIVAL, EMIGRATION, AND WINTER POPULATION STRUCTURE OF HARLEQUIN DUCKS

Abstract A population of individually marked Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) at White Rock, British Columbia, Canada was examined to measure the degree of population differentiation among birds which pair during the winter months. This required an understanding of the patterns of emigration among wintering sites in different segments of the population. Some juveniles arrived at the wintering grounds accompanied by their mothers, thus initially arriving into the same winter population as their parents. Young males were more likely than young females to disperse during the first two years of life. Adult males had higher local survival than adult females during the summer months, probably because of the greater mortality risks to nesting females. During the nonbreeding seasons, local survival was the same in both sexes. Paired males had a local survival of more than 90%, suggesting both high survival and strong philopatry. Unpaired males had a lower local survival rate, suggesting they have highe...

Estimation of Additive and Dominance Genetic Variances in Selected Layer Lines

Both additive and dominance genetic variances for body weight at 256 days (BW), age at first egg (SM), egg weight at 252 days of age (EW) and egg production efficiency between 169-280 days (EP) were estimated in one Rhode Island Red line (Y8), three White Leghorn lines (E1, E4 and S46) and one Recessive White Rock line (L17) which were selected at the National Livestock Improvement Center, Okazaki Station. The proportion range of the dominance variance to total genetic variance for EW, BW, SM and EP were 0.11 to 0.18, 0.03 to 0.42, 0.06 to 0.41, and 0.08 to 0.35, respectively, and large differences among lines were found. These proportion suggested that the dominance might affect the expression of EW except for E4 line, and for BW in almost all lines. In addition, as for the four traits in L17 line, the effects of dominance were found because heterosis due to dominance might take an important role in this line. It is necessary to consider the dominance effects in genetic evaluation for selected lines, especially for lines which originated from cross breeding.

Stem and Crown Rot of Chervil, Caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, in California.

Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) is a culinary herb grown commercially in California. In 1999, chervil plantings in shade houses in coastal California exhibited symptoms of a previously undescribed disease. Tan to gray lesions, surrounded by pinkish tissue, developed on crowns and lower sections of stems. Affected stems wilted, and plants eventually collapsed and rotted. More than 50% of the plants in the early spring planting were diseased. White mycelium and large, irregular, black sclerotia (3 to 6 mm diameter) were observed on infected stems and crowns. Isolations from symptomatic stems, mycelium, and sclerotia produced colonies of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Following previously described methods (2), pathogenicity was confirmed by culturing isolates on potato dextrose agar and allowing the fungus to colonize sterilized toothpicks placed on the surface of the agar. The pointed toothpick tips were inserted ≈3 mm deep in stems of potted chervil. Sterile toothpicks were inserted in control chervil plants. All plants were incubated in a mist chamber for 48 h and then kept in a greenhouse. Two other hosts of S. sclerotiorum, cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis cv. White Rock) and celery (Apium graveolens cv. Conquistador)were inoculated in the same way. After 7 to 10 days, symptoms and mycelium similar to those originally observed developed on inoculated chervil plants, and S. sclerotiorum was reisolated. Plants left for 14 or more days supported sclerotia. Chervil inoculated with sterile, uncolonized toothpicks did not develop symptoms. Results were similar for cauliflower and celery plants. Pathogenicity tests were repeated, and the results were similar. A separate set of chervil was inoculated by placing sclerotia at the base of plants; these plants also developed disease but at a much lower incidence (<50%). This is the first report of Anthriscus cerefolium as a host of S. sclerotiorum. The related plant cow parsley (A. sylvestris) has been reported as a host of S. sclerotiorum in England (1).

Nation and Race: The Developing Euro-American Racist Subculture

Today's rapidly growing Euro-American racist subculture is markedly different than past trans-Atlantic interactions. While nationalistic ideologies such as Nazism and fascism were traditionally imported from Europe to the United States, recent trends indicate that extreme right-wing ideas now also flow from America to Europe. Experts in sociology, political science, and history examine a wide range of international linkages that gave rise to an increasingly cohesive transnational and Euro-American brotherhood of the radical right. Among the topics discussed are the Internet, conspiracy theories, white power rock 'n' roll, and the skinhead movement.

Detection of a Macrophage-Specific Antigen and the Production of Interferon Gamma in Chickens Infected with Newcastle Disease Virus

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded spleen and intestinal tissues were harvested at 2 days postinfection from 4-wk-old white rock chickens infected with five different strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV). These tissues were examined for the presence of macrophage antigen expression, virus replication, and interferon gamma (IFN gamma) production. The five strains represented all three NDV pathotypes. Viral replication and IFN gamma, as determined by riboprobe in situ hybridization, were detected only in those chickens infected with velogenic viscerotropic NDV (VVNDV) strains. Macrophage antigen expression, an indicator of macrophage activation, was determined by immunohistochemistry with a macrophage-specific antibody, CVI-ChNL-68.1. Presence of macrophage antigen was most prominent in VVNDV-infected chickens. The distribution of this antigen within tissues was far more diffuse than the staining for viral mRNA. The presence of IFN gamma mRNA was detected in the spleen and intestinal lymphoid tissue of VVNDV-infected chickens. There was also increased macrophage antigen expression in the mesogen-infected birds, but it was less dramatic than in tissues from VVNDV-infected chickens. One of two lentogen-infected birds had evidence of increased macrophage antigen expression only in the spleen.

A Comparison of the Onset of Protection Induced by Newcastle Disease Virus Strain B1 and a Fowl Poxvirus Recombinant Newcastle Disease Vaccine to a Viscerotropic Velogenic Newcastle Disease Virus Challenge

Four-week-old specific-pathogen-free white rock chickens were immunized with either a commercial recombinant fowl poxvirus-vectored Newcastle disease vaccine (FPN) expressing the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase and fusion protein genes of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strain B1 or live NDV B1. Vaccinates and controls were challenged by eyedrop and intranasal (E/I) route with a viscerotropic velogenic NDV at 14 days postvaccination to determine the time of clearance of challenge virus. In a subsequent experiment, chickens were challenged at 3, 6, or 10 days postvaccination to determine the onset of immunity. Chickens that received a recommended field dose (1x) or a 0.01x dose of FP-N subcutaneously (s.c.) and were seropositive by hemagglutination-inhibition test at 14 days postvaccination cleared the challenge virus by 14 days postchallenge. Clinical Newcastle disease and high challenge virus titers in tissues were seen only in seronegative FP-N 0.01x dose vaccinates and controls. In a comparison of vaccination with FP-N (1x, 10(4,9) median tissue culture infective dose) s.c., B1 (10(6) median egg infective dose [EID50]) s.c., or B1 (10(6) EID50) E/I, chickens vaccinated at 6 or 10 days before challenge with all vaccines were protected against clinical disease, but only those vaccinated with B1 E/I 10 days before challenge were protected against infection with the challenge virus. Vaccination at 3 days before challenge with B1 E/I provided early protection, but severe nervous signs developed later and reduced overall protection to 60%, whereas disease in chickens vaccinated with B1 s.c. and FP-N s.c. 3 days before challenge was similar to the challenge controls.

Search for signs of ancient life on Mars: expectations from hydromagnesite microbialites, Salda Lake, Turkey

The 'White Rock', constituting a portion of what may be a lacustrine sedimentary sequence near the margin of a crater c. 90 km across in Sabaea Terra, Mars, measures 18 × 15 km × 180–540 m high. It is re-interpreted as a lens of magnesium carbonate precipitated where ground waters seeped into an ancient evaporating crater lake. Were life to have emerged on Mars, as seems feasible, then the 'White Rock' might be expected to comprise a complex of stromatolitic mounds. Salda Gölü (Lake) in Turkey, is taken as an analogue. This enclosed lake is nearly surrounded and underlain by partially serpentinized harzburgite. Hydromagnesite stromatolites (microbialites) up to 7 m high coalesce to form a group of small islands 200 m across. The microbialites are seen to be growing near the mouth of the usually dry Salda River in the southwestern sector. Smaller developments of hydromagnesite encircle the lake and image processing of satellite data reveals a second extensive zone beneath the lake surface over a delta in the southeast. Individual columns a few centimetres high constitute bulbous mounds which are about 2 m in diameter. These columns terminate in domes a centimetre or so across. The domes are often annulated and are covered with a green biofilm a few millimetres thick comprised of cyanobactrial filaments. The columns consist of alternating fine and coarse hydromagnesite layers differentiated on a millimetric scale. The coarser layers near the surface still contain traces of the biofilm. Fossil microbialites were also discovered in the friable hydromagnesite cliffs shoreward of the main developments, though the structures of the individual microbes have not survived. Instead the vestiges of microbialites are easily recognized and delineated by their coarse grain size and high porosity. Annular structures on their upper surfaces can be seen in places. The intervening and overlying material, also comprised of hydromagnesite, is a semi-lithified mud. Bulbous megascopic structures, separated by finer grained magnesium carbonate mudstone, within strata in the 'White Rock', would be strong evidence of a photosynthetic microbial genesis. Another deposit of white rock on the western margin of Juventae Chasma could have a similar origin.

Sounds of hate: White power rock and roll and the neo‐nazi skinhead subculture

This article deals with the most violent sub‐group of a variety of contemporary right‐wing extremist organizations ‐ neo‐Nazi skinheads. Specifically, I argue that in order to understand the growth and violent nature of this subculture it is necessary to address the important role played by its main propaganda tool called white power rock and roll. After reviewing the close relationship between this music and the historical development of the present day international neo‐Nazi skinhead network, I examine the main themes found within white power rock and roll by placing them within the context of contemporary right‐wing extremist ideology and noting differences where appropriate. In general, this propaganda seeks to incite violent activity by accentuating perceived threats from a conspiracy of enemies and by constructing a ‘warrior’ subculture that glorifies aggression and sacrifice. Contrary to some predictions, skinheads will continue to present a significant problem in terms of hate crime due to the steady proliferation of producers of this propaganda and profits associated with its distribution.

Baculovirus-derived hemagglutinin vaccines protect against lethal influenza infections by avian H5 and H7 subtypes

Baculoviruses were engineered to express hemagglutinin (HA) genes of recent avian influenza (AI) isolates of the H5 and H7 subtypes. The proteins were expressed as either intact (H7) or slightly truncated versions (H5). In both cases purified HA proteins from insect cell cultures retained hemagglutination activity and formed rosettes in solution, indicating proper folding. Although immunogenic in this form, these proteins were more effective when administered subcutaneously in a water-in-oil emulsion. One or two-day-old specific pathogen free (SPF) White Rock chickens, free of maternal AI antibodies, responded with variable serum HI titers, but in some cases the titers were comparable to those achieved using whole virus preparations. Vaccination of three-week-old chickens with 1.0 μg of protein per bird generated a more consistent serum antibody response with an average geometric mean titer (GMT) of 121 (H5) and 293 (H7) at 21 days postvaccination. When challenged with highly pathogenic strains of the corresponding AI subtypes, the vaccinated birds were completely protected against lethal infection and in some cases exhibited reduced or no cloacal shedding at 3 days postinfection. Vaccine protocols employing these recombinant HA proteins will not elicit an immune response against internal AI proteins and thus will not interfere with epidemiological surveys of natural influenza infections in the field.

Pathogenesis of Newcastle disease in chickens experimentally infected with viruses of different virulence.

Groups of 4-week-old White Rock chickens were inoculated intraconjunctivally with nine isolates of Newcastle disease virus representing all pathotypes. Birds were monitored clinically and euthanatized sequentially, with collection of tissues for histopathologic examination and in situ hybridization using an anti-sense digoxigenin-labeled riboprobe corresponding to the sequence of the gene coding for the matrix protein. Disease was most severe with velogenic viscerotropic pathotypes and was characterized by acute systemic illness with extensive necrosis of lymphoid areas in the spleen and intestine. Viral nucleic acid was detected in multiple tissues but most prominently in macrophages associated with lymphoid tissue. Velogenic neurotropic isolates caused central nervous system disease despite minimal amounts of viral nucleic acid detected in neural tissue. Mesogenic and lentogenic pathotypes caused no overt disease; however, viral nucleic acid was present in myocardium and air sac epithelium following infection with these isolates. Compromise of air sac and myocardium may predispose mesogen- and lentogen-infected chickens to secondary infection and/or decreased meat and egg production.

Evaluation of Broccoli Residue Incorporation into Field Soil for Verticillium Wilt Control in Cauliflower.

Wilt incited by Verticillium dahliae has recently become an important disease on cauliflower in the Salinas Valley. Although broccoli is closely related to cauliflower, wilt has not occurred on this host and V. dahliae isolates from cauliflower were weakly pathogenic on broccoli in greenhouse inoculations. In this study, the effectiveness of broccoli residues on propagule attrition in soil and wilt incidence on cauliflower was determined in a commercial field infested with V. dahliae microsclerotia. The treatments were broccoli residue with tarp, broccoli residue without tarp, chloropicrin, metham sodium, control with tarp, control without tarp, cauliflower followed by cauliflower, and cauliflower followed by fallow. Approximately 200 kg of chopped broccoli was uniformly disk incorporated into the corresponding plots (36 m2). Densities of V. dahliae microsclerotia were determined at 0, 30, 90, and 145 days after treatment in 1993 and 0, 30, 74, 109, and 140 days after treatment in 1994 using the modified Anderson sampler technique. Cauliflower cultivar White Rock was planted in all plots. Plant height, number of marketable heads, head weight, and wilt severity were determined at maturity. Even though the pre-treatment number of V. dahliae propagules in broccoli-treated and control plots were similar, by the end of the cauliflower cropping season numbers either were the same or increased in control plots compared with a reduction in numbers in broccoli residue-treated plots during both seasons. There were no differences between tarped and non-tarped plots either in broccoli residue-treated or control plots. In fumigated plots, propagules declined initially but later returned to pre-treatment levels by the end of the cropping season. Continuous cauliflower or fallowing after one cauliflower crop resulted in stable or increased levels of microsclerotia. Verticillium wilt severity was lowest in metham sodium-treated plots, followed by broccoli residue-treated plots and chloropicrin in both years. Plant height, marketable heads, and head weight were higher in broccoli-treated than in control plots. These results suggest that broccoli residues reduce V. dahliae microsclerotia in soil and wilt of cauliflower as much as or more than chloropicrin and metham sodium, and that rotation with broccoli may be a feasible approach to manage Verticillium wilt in cauliflower and other susceptible crops.

Heterosis for growth related traits in White Plymouth Rock and Single Comb White Leghorn reciprocal crosses reared under two crude protein regimens

Heterosis for growth related traits in White Plymouth Rock and Single Comb White Leghorn reciprocal crosses reared under two crude protein regimens

Interspecific and Locational Differences in Heavy Metal Levels in Four Species of Birds Near Sydney, Australia

We examined the levels of cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium in four species of birds near Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in January, 1996. Molted contour feathers were collected from silver gull, Larus novaehollandiae (Royal National Park and downtown Sydney), sulphur-crested cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea (Blue Mountains, Royal National Park, and Sydney), Australian white ibis, Threskiornis molucca (Sydney), and rock dove Columba livia (Royal National Park and Sydney). We tested the null hypothesis that there were no species or locational differences in metal levels. There were significant species differences in all metals, with rock doves having the highest levels of cadmium, chromium, lead, and manganese, and silver gulls having the highest levels of mercury and selenium. Metal levels were generally low in cockatoos, and were lowest in those from the Royal National Park. For silver gulls, cadmium, lead, and chromium levels were highest at Sydney, and there were no locational differences in manganese, mercury, and selenium levels. For rock doves, cadmium, chromium and manganese were higher in Sydney, and there were no locational differences in lead, mercury, and selenium. Overall, cadmium and chromium levels were significantly higher in Sydney than in the Royal National Park for all species, and there were no locational differences in mercury levels. Although the levels of most metals in feathers from these Australian birds were within the ranges reported worldwide, lead levels in ibises and rock doves were among the highest reported worldwide, suggesting a cause for concern.